


six feet under

by buckscasey



Series: Sevasey One Shots [3]
Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fix-It of Sorts, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Injuries, Past Relationship(s), Season/Series 05, Worried Kelly, lots of emotions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:34:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23923165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckscasey/pseuds/buckscasey
Summary: Everything had happened too fast, one minute they were celebrating that Noah had been rescued and the next one Matt was trapped under 30 feet of wet earth.
Relationships: Matthew Casey/Kelly Severide
Series: Sevasey One Shots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1544605
Comments: 18
Kudos: 98





	six feet under

**Author's Note:**

> This story came to my mind after watching episode 3x15 of 911 so it's loosely based on it.  
> Title of this fic it's from the song "six feet under" by Billie Eilish.

So far, it had been a quiet shift, nothing but a few calls for ambo. Everyone except Casey was gathered in the common room. He was alone in his office, he’d been doing that a lot lately, isolating himself from his crew. Everyone understands it though, it had only been a few weeks since Louie’s father had come back and regained the custody of his son which led to the breakup of the already unstable couple. And Dawson decided to ask for a transfer, it was an understatement to say that it had been a couple of hard weeks for the blonde. 

As much as Kelly hated seeing Matt sad, he was glad he and Dawson had finally broken up. He had never like that relationship, maybe because he was jealous or because he knew that despite all the shit he’d put Casey through after Andy’s death, the blonde was still in love with him and had only accepted Dawson because he was heartbroken. 

He’d tried to reach out and help his friend, but Matt would just brush it off saying that he was “fine” and dealing with it in his own way. Severide wasn’t surprised though, Casey had never been the kind of person that would easily accept help. And it was probably for the best though, speaking about relationships with your ex didn't seem wise and would probably be uncomfortable. Still, Severide decided that he should at least try and talk to Casey, he was on his way to the truck lieutenant’s office when the alarms went off, calling all units to a farm on the outskirts of the city. 

When they arrived at the scene they noticed that a lot of companies from all around the city had been called, it was odd. Soon, they were informed that a kid was missing and it was possible that he had fallen through an abandoned water well that was located in the property. Boden ordered his crews to split up in small teams to cover more territory faster. Casey and his crew found steps on the mud and discovered an open narrow well pipe, it was possible that the kid had fallen there. 

In order to be sure, they tied-up a camera to a line so they could get a visual. The kid was there, he was alive but they needed to act soon. Once they located him, they used a radio to contact the boy.

“Hey Noah, “ Casey said with a soft tone over the radio “I’m Matt, I’m a firefighter” the little boy raised his head as much as he could when he heard the voice “we’re gonna get you out of there. Okay? Hang on”

“How are we doing this rescue?” Casey questioned Severide. 

“I think our best option is to dig a tunnel parallel to the pipe” the Squad lieutenant suggested, “then one of us goes down”. 

Everyone agreed and they called central asking for a drill rig. It took hours to dig the 30-feet tunnel. By the time they finally finished, night had already fallen, accompanied by heavy rain. Complicating the rescue even more. But they had to act soon, Noah was running out of time, he had been stuck for too many hours and the cold water of the rain didn’t help either. They needed to act fast.

The distance between the tunnel and the pipe was significant, but they couldn't risk digging any closer, it could compromise the integrity of the well pipe and cause a collapse. Whoever went down there, would have to dig its way to Noah manually.

"I'll go in Chief" the truck lieutenant spoke firmly.

"I think it should be one of us members of the rescue squad Chief" Severide interfered. 

"I talked to him over the radio and I'm smaller than any of you guys," Casey explained "It'll be easier for me to maneuver in such a narrow space" 

The Chief didn’t seem convinced at first but he finally agreed "Fine. But you'll only have 30 minutes" Boden said firmly "We're pulling you out after that time"

"Copy Chief" 

They prepped Casey, with all the necessary gear for a water rescue, including an oxygen tank in case he needed it; the tunnel was possibly flooded by now due to the rain. The Chief gave him precise instructions. Saying that he should tug on the line twice if he found the kid before the 30 minutes they had decided as the time limit. 

"Be careful Matt," Severide said softly, he had a bad feeling about this whole thing. The blonde just gave him an affirmative nod and a thumbs up before going down. 

* * *

The minutes passed and there was still no sign of Casey. As expected, they had lost the radio communication and had no way to know what was happening down there. 

Severide had probably worn a hole in the floor by now, in fact, he had, the earth was loose due to the heavy rain and he hadn’t been able to stop pacing the area. He felt absolutely useless, his best friend was god knows how many feet underground, alone and the only thing he could do was wait. 

The Chief was getting impatient too, he was checking his clock constantly. The moment the bright red numbers of the clock indicated the stipulated 30 minutes had passed he announced. “Okay, it’s time” he addressed Capp who in charge of the line, “start pulling him up” Boden ordered. 

Capp started pulling the rope slowly, suddenly, he yelled, “I lost the weight!!” Boden tightened his grab on his radio, that couldn’t be good, but he ordered Capp to keep pulling. 

When the squad man finished pulling the rope, they discovered that Casey had cut his security line. Severide murmured under his breath “damn Matt.” He couldn’t believe his friend had been so reckless. 

“Borelli, suit up.” Boden ordered fast “You’re going in.”

They secured the young candidate to the line and began pulling him down. 

After a few minutes, he tugged the rope twice, letting them know he had found the kid, so they start pulling him up. He resurfaced with the boy in his arms, he was wrapped in a heating blanket. Some paramedics at the scene were ready and took the boy from the firefighter's arms. He seemed fine.

Borelli was fast to reassure all of the members of the crew, telling them that their lieutenant was okay. They just needed to send a second line so Casey could get out. But before that happened, a bolt of lightning hit the crown block of the drill rig causing it to fall on top of the entrance of the tunnel, leaving Casey buried under the mud. 

Everything had happened too fast, one minute they were celebrating that Noah had been rescued and the next one Matt was trapped. Matt was trapped. 

Severide felt his head spinning as he realized what had just happened “Matt! Matt! Oh my god, no!! Matt!!" He yelled desperately as he began to dig the area where the tunnel entrance had been just a few minutes ago. He needed to get his friend out, no matter what.

“Kelly, stop!” Boden yelled as he pulled him away from the collapse area. 

“No Chief,” he said, trying to release himself from the other man’s tight hold “I have to get him out!” the fear was evident in his eyes. 

"We need to keep our heads cold Kelly" the Chief addressed him with a soft tone "Casey needs us at the top of our game"

Severide slowly stopped fighting and nodded, he knew the Chief was right, as much as he wanted to get to Matt fast, digging by hand was a terrible idea given the weather circumstances, it could cause another collapse. 

"What should we do?" Severide asked he knew they didn't have a lot of options.

“We should split up in teams again and do a grid search starting at the well” Boden ordered all the crews. 

“Hopefully, Matt found his way to the well, where we could reach him more easily.”

Severide led the team that would search the well. He really hoped Casey had made it to the well, they didn’t have a lot of time, he had probably run out of oxygen by now. Once they arrived at the spot, they used a thermal camera to see if Matt was there. And he was, they needed to pull him out fast. 

This time, Severide was going in, so they attached him to a safety line and pulled him down. After a few minutes, he resurfaced with an unconscious Matt on his arms.

He gently placed him on the gurney that was already waiting for them, Shay and Rafferty on standby. 

“Hey, we got it.” Shay placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. Severide back off to let the paramedics work, but he wasn’t able to take his eyes away from his friend. His mind pleading "please be okay Matt." 

It was a mass of action as the paramedics worked on Casey, they did breath rescues and chest compressions, trying to get him breathing again. After what felt like an eternity, Casey finally coughed and sputtered as the water left his lungs. He was breathing again. They loaded him to the ambulance and sped off. 

“We’ll follow the ambulance Chief” Severide announced, already hurrying his men to get going.  
“No, we’re all going back to the firehouse” Boden understood Kelly’s worry perfectly but everyone needed to take a shower, they were soaked after working too many hours under the rain “We’ll join them at the hospital later if necessary.” Reluctantly, Severide accepted, at least Shay was with Matt, he wouldn’t be alone. 

* * *

Everyone was getting dressed in the lockers when ambo rolled back, informing everyone that even when Casey was fine, the doctor had decided that it was better if he stayed overnight to get his temperature back up since he was mildly hypothermic. They all let out a sigh of relief knowing that their lieutenant would be okay. 

After hearing the news, Severide quickly walked to his office, Shay following him close. Once they were inside, she closed the door behind her. 

"He's going to be okay Kelly." 

"I know," he let out a shaky laugh “he’s always okay.”

That line caused the paramedic to smile, her friend was right, somehow Matt Casey was always okay "But you're still worried"

The squad lieutenant nodded. Shay knew that even if their relationship had been over for years, Kelly still loved Matt as more than a friend. “I just wish I could be there with him. You know he hates hospitals”

“I know Kelly” she squeezed his shoulder comfortingly, "I think he's getting discharged in the morning," Shay said before leaving "maybe you should go and pick him, he'll probably need a ride."

* * *

As soon as his shift was over, Severide drove straight to Med. Even with Shay’s reassurance, he hadn’t been able to sleep at all last night thinking about Matt. Every time he fell asleep a different nightmare would wake him up. 

When he arrived at the hospital, he asked the nurse in charge for Matt's room. She kindly signaled him the room where Matt was and also informed him that Matt could leave as soon as he signed the discharge papers. Severide thanked her and made his way to the blonde's room.

He knocked the door before getting inside “Hey buddy,” he greeted the other man who was already awake. 

“Kelly,” Matt said surprised “What are you doing here?” 

“Giving you a ride home” Kelly stated simply “I also brought you some dry clothes so you can change,” he said placing the duffel bag on a chair and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Thanks,” the blonde said, he was flushing “You shouldn’t have bothered to do all this”

Kelly rolled his eyes, there was no point in arguing with Matt when he said things like that, showing him that he cared was the best. “I know” Kelly sighed, “But I'm here for you okay?"

Matt nodded and Severide left the room so the blonde could have some privacy while he changed into the clothes Kelly had brought. Only a few minutes later Matt walked out of the room wearing Kelly’s clothes that looked big on him. A little smile appeared on Severide’s face, he was just happy that Matt was fine and he could be discharged with almost perfect health, he had feared the worse the previous night. 

“Let’s go home” 

* * *

It wasn’t a long ride from Med to Kelly’s apartment but it was enough for Matt to fall asleep. Once they arrived, Kelly parked outside his building and took a look at Matt. He didn’t want to wake up the blonde, he always looked so peaceful when he slept. Kelly loved watching Matt sleep and he did it way more often than he’d like to admit, somehow, it gave him peace. 

His mind took him back to the time they were together, he would always wake up before his blonde boy to stare at him, often admiring how the light of the rising sun would delicately brighten his skin making it look like he was glowing. He'd often wondered how he got so lucky to have Matt as his boyfriend, he didn’t feel like he deserved it, so he’d tried to always show him how much he loved, that often included waking him up showering him with kisses and breakfast in bed. 

He let out a sad sigh, lately, he’d been thinking a lot about what they used to have before he ruined everything blinded by his rage and grief after losing Andy. He stared at the man who was in the passenger seat for a few more minutes before softly waking him up.

“Hey Matty, we’re here” 

The blonde slowly began to open his bright blue eyes.

“We’re here bud”

Matt stared out of the window “Um, this isn’t my house Kelly”

Severide let out a happy chuckle at the confusion in his friend’s face. He looked adorable. 

“I just thought my place would be a better option” Kelly simply explained “this way I can keep an eye on you”

It was probable that the blonde was utterly exhausted because he didn’t even protest, just muttered a quiet okay, and got out of the car. 

Once they were inside the apartment, Kelly invited Matt to make himself comfortable. The blonde sat on the couch while Severide went to his room to get some fluffy blankets to cover Matt with. When he returned, he found Casey curled up in a ball, he probably was still cold even when he would never admit it. He gently placed the blankets on top of Matt, he looked absolutely tired and still a little pale.

"Do you want a mug of hot chocolate?" Kelly was already on his way to the kitchen when he asked.

“I really don’t want to bother you”

“You’re not bothering me” Severide replied softly. That was typical Matt, always refusing any kind of help and thinking he wasn't worth the effort. It still broke Kelly’s heart. 

Casey didn’t say anything for a while, Kelly thought maybe the other man fall asleep but then he heard him asking. 

“Where’s Shay by the way?”

“I don’t know”

“You don’t know where you’re roommate is?”

“You just said, we’re roommates. I’m not her sitter,” he chuckled “But she’s probably at her girlfriend’s place. She’s spending a lot of time there lately.” he said placing two mugs on the table and sitting next to Matt on the couch. 

"I'm happy for her" 

"Yeah, me too" 

They settled in comfortable silence for a few minutes, it was nice. Matt seemed to be really lost in his thoughts, he didn’t even notice Severide's stolen glances. He couldn’t help it though, Matt had wrapped himself in the blankets in a way that only his face and hands could be seen, he looked bewitching. Severide didn’t want to ruin that moment, but before he noticed the words left his mouth.

“Why?” Casey looked confused like he didn’t understand what his friend meant “Why did you cut the rope, Matt?”

The blonde just sighed, he really didn’t want to have this conversation right now, or ever. But he could see that his friend was worried about him

“I had just located Noah when you guys start pulling me up” he calmly explained “He was running out of time. I wasn’t going to let him there alone to die”

Severide knew he would have probably done the same thing if he had been in that situation. But for some reason, Casey's decision was still bothering him.

"So you cut the rope so that you both could've died there?" he hadn’t meant to sound angry, but his tone suggested otherwise. 

"I know you guys were gonna come get us" Casey explained, he was getting annoyed with Severide's recrimination "It wasn't such a big deal"

"Wasn't such a big deal Casey?" Severide was now raging, "you could've died!" tears were threatening to fall any second.

"Kelly…" 

"No, let me talk”

"Do you have any idea?" his voice was breaking “Do you have any idea of what I felt when I had to pull you out of there?” the tears were running free at this point.

"You weren’t breathing and I… “he inhaled sharply, “I thought you were dead Matt” he broke down crying. 

The next words that left Matt’s mouth took Severide by surprise “I thought I was going to die alone” the blonde was crying now too.

The only thing that Kelly could do was reach for the blonde and wrap him tightly in his arms.

“Why am I always left behind? Why does everyone leave me?” Matt’s voice cracking. 

Kelly's heart broke when he heard those words. Even more, because he knew that in a way, he was part of the reason the blonde felt like that. He had hurt and abandoned Matt when they needed each other the most. But he was sure, if he were given another chance, he would make things right this time, show Matt how loved and amazing he was and give him everything he deserved. 

Apparently, he had got lost in his thoughts for a while because he then heard Matt softly calling him “Kel?”

“You hadn’t called me that in years” he sounded confused “not since we were together”

“That was a long time ago Kelly”

“I know” Severide let out a sad sigh “But I want you to know that I’m sorry” he inhaled sharply “for everything that I did to you.” Years later but he’d done it, he’d finally apologized to Matt.

“I have nothing to forgive you for” Matt replied softly. "You had every right to be angry with me..."

"You know that's not true" Kelly was fast to stop the blonde “Let's not talk about that right now. Why don't you get some sleep, you look tired”

“Well, you don’t look so good yourself if we're being honest” the blonde chuckled, his eyes sparkling like they hadn't in a while.

"Fair enough" he laughed. Only Matt could make him smile like that.

“Do you want to take my bed?”

“The couch is fine, really”

“Kelly?”

“Yeah, Matty?”

“Thanks for everything”

“Nothing to thank for,” Kelly said wrapping his arms around the blonde “I’m here for you, always” he kissed his forehead and they both fell asleep. 

* * *

A few hours later, when Shay finally arrived at the apartment, she found her friends sleeping on the couch. Matt's head was resting on Kelly's lap, who was hugging the blonde protectively. 

For a moment she considered slamming the door to wake them up, she would love to see if they acted like deers caught in the headlights. But she decided against it, they looked peaceful and like at that moment, both of them had everything that they needed in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow. I never expected this story to get so big (yes this is big for me), it was a huge surprise. I never thought I could write 3k words. I also really struggled with some parts, hope it was mildly good at least. Please let me know what you think, all feedback and comments are welcome. I love reading them.


End file.
